Finding Direction: Charles Watts’ Journey to Master Myoskeletal Therapist

Sometimes a career begins not with a lifelong plan, but with the realization that the path you are on is no longer enough.

For Charles Watts, a massage therapist in Oak Island, North Carolina, that realization came while he was managing a local trampoline facility. The job was enjoyable, but Charles knew something was missing.

“I had no passion for it,” he recalls.

Looking for a career with more meaning, he began exploring programs at local community colleges. Massage therapy caught his attention almost unexpectedly. In 2016, he enrolled in the massage therapy program at Miller-Motte College, and it soon became clear that he had found something worth pursuing.

His instructors told him he had a natural talent for massage. More importantly, their encouragement gave him the motivation to keep learning.

That search for direction would become a recurring theme in Charles’ development as a therapist. Once he graduated from massage school, he knew he wanted to move beyond general massage therapy and develop more specialized skills for working with musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction.

He focused his continuing education on orthopedic massage and eventually attended a class with James Waslaski. During the training, Waslaski referenced the work of Erik Dalton, which made Charles curious about Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques®.

In 2019, Charles decided to find out for himself. Rather than taking a single course, he purchased the entire Dalton home study library.

He describes it as “one of the best investments I have made for my career.”

Replacing Guesswork With Assessment

What resonated most with Charles was not simply a collection of new massage techniques. It was the emphasis on assessment and using what he observed to guide his treatment.

“What I love particularly about Dalton’s work is the focus on assessment,” Charles says. “When I am working with a client, I don’t have to guess as to where to work.”

That distinction changed the way he approached clients.

MAT gave Charles a framework for recognizing problematic movement patterns and considering how those patterns might contribute to the pain or limitations a client was experiencing. Assessment became a way to determine where his attention was most needed, rather than simply treating the area where symptoms were being felt.

The educational approach also made the material practical. Charles found that the concepts were presented in a way he could understand and put to use quickly, both through the home study courses and his classroom training.

As his MAT education progressed, so did his clinical results.

“MAT techniques have redefined my practice in a way I could never have imagined,” he says.

Charles began seeing better outcomes with clients experiencing chronic pain. The work also encouraged him to think beyond what happened on the massage table, looking at movement patterns and ways clients might continue addressing them outside the treatment room.

For Charles, some of the most meaningful moments have come when those changes affect a client’s life in a significant way.

“One of the most rewarding things is to hear a client say that they did not need surgery because of this work.”

Continuing the Journey to MMT

Earning his Master Myoskeletal Therapist® certification represents another milestone in a journey that began with a simple search for a more fulfilling career.

Charles also sees the value of MMT as extending beyond the course material itself. His experience introduced him to a larger community of massage therapists and instructors, including Tammy McCue, who he says have been willing to provide support throughout the learning process.

His advice to massage therapists considering the certification is to think about education as an investment in both themselves and the people they serve.

For Charles, that investment has provided something especially valuable: a clearer way to approach complicated clients. Instead of simply asking where it hurts and beginning treatment there, he has developed a process for assessing movement, identifying patterns and making more informed decisions about where and how to work.

It is a fitting evolution for someone whose massage therapy career began because he was searching for direction.

Congratulations to Charles Watts on earning his MMT certification. We are pleased to welcome this Oak Island, North Carolina massage therapist to the Master Myoskeletal Therapist community and look forward to seeing where his continued study and dedication take him next.